Signal.



I. L. McKINNEY.

SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.26. 1917.

1 ,271,740, v Patented July 9, 1918.

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JAMES 1.3 MQKINNEY, OF ST LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SIGNAL.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Application filed December 26, 1917. Serial No. 208,760.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES L. MCKINNEY, a'citizen of the United States,residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented acertain new and useful Signal, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in signals and has reference moreparticularly to a railway-gate signal and has for its object to providea device which will display a warning signal when the gate is down andhide the warning signal from view when the gate is up or open.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signal device which isclosed on all sides excepting for a window in the front face of thedevice thereby providing a signal capable of using a red-light whichwill not be visible to railroad employees, but visible only to trafficapproaching the closed railroad gate.

A still further obj ect of my invention is to provide a signal housinghaving a balanced signal plate pivotally mounted therein1 said housingadapted to be fixed to a railroadgate and movable therewith so that awarning carried by the signal plate may be visible througha window whenthe railroadgate is down and protected from view when the railroad-gateis up or open.

lith the above and other objects in view the invention consists incertain new and novel constructions,arrangements and combination ofparts as will be more fully described hereinafter and finally pointedout in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification wherein like characters of reference denote similar partsthroughout the several views:

Figure 1, is a front elevation in full and dotted lines of a railroadcrossing gate in closed and open positions respectively, and to which isfixed my signal device.

Fig. 2, is a detail in front elevation, of the signal device as itappears when the crossing-gate is up and the warning upon the signalplate is out of view.

Fig. 3, is a detail, in front elevation, of the signal device as itappears when the crossing gate is closed or lowered and the warning uponthe signal plate is in view.

Fig. 4, is a detail, in rear elevation, of the signal device showing itfixed to a rail-1 wat menagere Fig. 5, is a front elevation of thesignal device with the housing in cross-section.

h Fig. 6, is a vertical sectional view of the signal device taken online X-X of Fig. 4, looking in direction of the arrow.

Referring to the drawings the reference character 1, designates anordinary type of railroad crossing-gate arm.

In carrying out the aim of my invention, I employ a suitable metallichousing 2 which is fixed to the gate-arm 1 by means of suitablefastening means 3. The front face of the housing is provided with asuitably shaped and sized sight opening 4. TheA rear face of the housing2 is provided in its upperV half with a suitably shaped door 5 hinged,as at 6, to the back face of the housing. The door is held in a closedposition by means of a suitable fastening device 7. The upper part ofthe door 5 is provided with a plurality of suitable openings 8 to permitheat to escape from the interior of the housing and to provide airthereto to enable a lamp to burn therein.

The opening 4 in the front face of the housing 2 is preferably closed bymeans of a glass designated 9.

Pivotally supported by means of a suitable shaft 10 within the housing 2is a suitable signal plate 11. One end of the shaft 10 is supported bymeans of the bearing 10 while the opposite end of the shaft 10 issupported by means of a suitable adjusting screw 13, as clearly shown inFig. 6.

The upper end 12 of the signal plate 11 is preferably provided with asuitable warning, such for instance as the word Stop, which is stampedin section 12 of the signal plate 11. Anv suitable warning charactersmay be formed in this plate section 12 and covered with a red glass, orCelluloid facing 14.

A suitable lamp 15 is supported by means of the signal plate 11 to therear of the signal plate section 12 thereby permitting light from thelamp to shine though the warning plate section 12 of the signal plate11, as is manifest.

The lower edge of the signal plate 11 is provided with a suitablebalance weight 16, to hold the warning plate section 12 of the signalplate 11 in its upright position at all times, as clearly shown in Figs.5 and 6.

The operation of the signal device is as follows: i

Whey. the gate-@Fm l is down or in its horizontal position, the wartung'plate seo? tion 12 of the signal plate 11 is directly Ato the rear ofthe opening/Linthe iront ijlace of the housing l, thereby displaying awarning signal in red, to all approaching traffic, such as vehicles,pedestrians, etc. .i

.As @the gatermin |S being raised, it .will be observed, that theopening 4 in the face of the housing l, gradually moves to one side ofthe warning plate section l2 of the signal lplate 11, thereby Yentirelyhiding the warning *plate Vsection :12 from view `when the Ygatearm V1is in its uppermost oropen position, as clearly illustrated in lFigs. 1and 2. It will "be observed that-the housing lmoves with relation to'the signal plate which stands still in a balanced. position, thus itwill beseen;that;tlie warning signal is in lfull view .ofapproachingvtraiiic when the gate-,arm is vdown or closed and :completely'hiddenfrom view-whenthe gatearm lis raised or in an upright position. 'The inany advantagesl` of a l signalv as ihereindescribed will readily suggestthemselves to thosefskilled'in the arttofwhiclh it appertains.

V"The Aexact construction illustrated in the drawings not essential 4toAthe invention, as isinani-est, andfbeing aware thatvarious changes maybe made Ain the `construction and arrangement of parts lwithou-tdepart'- ing yfrom the principle of -niy invention, l reserve uthe rightto make any y such changes or modifications as -niay Vfairly fall withinv the Vscope of ythe appended claims when Vfairly construedf What Iclaim is:

Vl. In'eombination with Va railway crossing gate-arm, a lsignalcomprising a housing having'a sight Efopening fixed 'to said gatearm, 'arself "balanced vvindicator arranged inside of said housing adapted -tobe exposed -to rview througli said sight opening when the qgaltearm isina horizontal position and out of alinement with said sight Yopening-whenth'e'gate-arm is in anupriglit position.

2. In combination with a railway 'crossing gate-arm, of a signalcomprising a housing .pievided faiths-.Sieht Opening Xed t0 Saidgate-arm, means pivotally balanced Within #Said housing, a door for saidhousing, a .warning indicator forming a part of said balanced ,.nieavns,a lamp suppoitedfbysaid means to the rear of said warning indicatoryforvilluminating said indicator, said warning indicator adapted to beexposed to view through said sight opening to approaching traiiio Vwhensaid gate-armis in afhorizontalposition and out of alinement Y'with saidsight opening when said 'gatefarm is inan upright position.

3. In combination-with a railway crossing gataarm, of a signalcomprising a housing provided with a sight openinggii-Xedto saidgate-arm, va door for said housing, Va signal plate pivotally arrangedwithin ysaid housing, a warning indicator formed --at the upper end ofsaid signal plate, ;alainprsupportedto the-rear-of said wai-'ningindicator ,for illuminating said warning indicator, a

Vweight iixedto theflower part of saidsignal plate for balancing saidwarning indicator, said warning indicator adapted to 'be eX- posed -toview 1through said sight yopening when thegate-ai-jm is in a horizontalposition and out of alinement -with said sight opening when saidgate-arm is in an upright Gopiespf lhis patent may 5be obtained for `vecents each, ny addressingthe eommssoiler=,of1aten1is,

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